TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense tracked nine Chinese military aircraft and five naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. Friday (May 3) and the same time Saturday (May 4).

The ministry said it monitored the situation with its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems, and deployed land-based air defense missile systems. However, at the time of publication, it did not mention whether the Chinese planes had crossed the median line or entered the nation’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

Thus far in May, the ministry has detected Chinese military aircraft 39 times and naval vessels 21 times. Since September 2020, Beijing has increased its use of "gray zone tactics" by operating more military aircraft and naval ships around Taiwan.  

According to CSIS, gray zone tactics are “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resorting to direct and sizable use of force."